Rate constant for the fraction of atomic chlorine with formaldehyde from 200 to 500K

A flash photolysis - resonance fluorescence technique was used to measure rate constant. The results were independent of substantial variations in H2CO, total pressure (Ar), and flash intensity (i.e., initial Cl). The rate constant was shown to be invariant with temperature, the best representation for this temperature range being K = (7.48 + or - 0.50) x 10 to the minus 11 power cu cm molecule-1 s-1 where the error is one standard deviation. The rate constant is theoretically discussed and the potential importance of the reaction in stratospheric chemistry is considered.